Her father had a different reaction. “So, you’re telling me you’ve been lusting after my daughter foryears?”
“Well, yeah.” Mace picked himself up off the ground. “Look at her.”
Oh, Mace. Wrong thing to say. But she knew why he’d done it. Ever impatient, he wanted to get this over with. Antagonizing a Horseman was certain to jumpstart a battle.
Ares lit into him so fast and hard that Mace, forced to retreat, went down twice more before Blade distracted Ares with a shield bash into his flank.
“Prove you’re worthy of my daughter,” Ares growled, intensifying his relentless attack, knocking Blade back with mighty swings of his sword and flinging Mace around with his bare fist.
“Prove it?” Mace yelled, his temper sparked, his eyes going gold. He was magnificent in his fury, and Scotty’s chest expanded with pride. “We’ve been proving it to you for thirty fucking years!”
Mace launched into Ares like a linebacker, a move her father didn’t see coming. They tumbled to the ground, Mace’s fists pounding into Ares’s face. Blade pinned his legs, and for a heart-stopping moment, it looked like Mace and Blade might actually claim victory.
But with a roar that shook the arena, Ares exploded to his feet, knocking Mace and Blade off him as easily as if they’d been nothing more than pesky insects.
Blade stood, brushing sand off his shirt, but his gaze was locked on Scotty. She’d always been able to read him, and it was no different right now.
I won’t let you down.
Gods. Of course, he wouldn’t.
He held out a hand to Mace. Their hands clasped in a strong grip, and in an instant, they were side-by-side, forming a wall in front of War, Second Horseman of the Apocalypse.
And they weren’t afraid.
Her heart swelled to near bursting. After all these years, those breathtaking males were hers.
As a unit, they advanced on her father.
“We love her,” Blade said, his deep, rumbling voice dripping with truth that could only come from the soul. “If I have to die to prove it, I will. Because I’ll know that Mace will still be here for her.”
“Same.” Mace wiped blood from his nose with the back of his hand. “I will die for her. I will die for Blade. I will die for this entirefamily. And you know that. So, if you’re going to kill us for loving your incredible daughter, do it. But know this. We won’t make it easy. Because we fight forher.”
Tears filled Scotty’s eyes, and when she looked at her mom, her eyes were brimming with tears too.
“Fate chose well, Scotland,” she murmured.
Scotty swallowed the lump in her throat. “I know.”
Silence stretched. The air stilled. The Memitim watching from the sidelines were frozen in place.
Ares regarded Mace and Blade with cold, battle-hardened eyes.
But as they moved toward him, he smiled.
“You have my blessing,” he said, his voice echoing through the arena. “And my respect.”
With a sob of relief, Scotty threw herself at him. “Thank you, Daddy.” She wrapped herself around him for the biggest, tightest hug ever. “I love you.”
His big arms caged her against him. “I love you, too, my littlest warrior.” He hadn’t called her that since she was a child, and the hitch in his voice put a lump in her throat. “And those two knuckleheads.” He pulled back and smiled down at her. “But don’t think this means I’ll goeasy on them when we train.”
She laughed. “No one wouldeverthink that.”
After that, there were hugs and “I love yous” all around. Her parents contacted the Sem families and offered to join in with the existing party planning. An hour later, Scotty found herself back at the compound with the guys, snuggled on the couch to play some video games.
She’d once dreamed of this, of Mace leaning over to kiss her, and Blade doing the same, and now, here they were.
“Maybe we should discuss living arrangements,” Blade said, after he shot a couple of pixelated bad guys.
